Tech level
There are several 'tiers' of tech level for each faction that radically change the capabilities of the faction. Certain parts of tech can be researched by the faction itself, some parts only by salvaging and reverse engineering other faction's tech. Balance Tier 1: Balance faction starts with the ability to build mobile outposts, which can move on wheels. Wheels limit it to move only between very passable terrain (base flatlands and hills transition with atleast 1 flatland connection). Those act as a mobile defensible outpost that can store resources, and house players. Each time this outpost moves, it consumes some NON-RENEWABLE resources so it can become stranded. Moving of the outpost can be only done while not under attack. Outpost is vulnerable and attackable during movement phase. Tier 2: Mobile outposts can hover (able to move over hills and flatlands or transition with atleast 1 connection of those), can land only on flatlands. Balance gains ability to build vacuum tubes to allow for 'fast' transport of people and resources between outposts. Balance gains ability to craft mobile temporary boost stations (stimulants). Those will be available to players with the apropriate clearence code set (purchasable from the guild owning those stations). Those stations will be mobile but subject to similar limitations as the mobile outposts - limited fuel, hovering on t2, flying on t3, attackable while moving (movement speed slighly slower than a running player so that enemies can catch up), not movable while under attack, durable Tier 3: Mobile outposts can fly (can move over mountain/volcano but bust land on hill or flatland). Balance gains ability to build teleports inside the outposts (very resource expensive) that move people and resources instantly. Balance gains ability to craft body augments improving stats. Balance gains ability to craft mobile defense turrets. Same rules as mobile buffing stations, basic ranged attacks. Order Tier 1: Gear gains familiarity on use, improving it's statistics. Reverse engineered tech can be replicated by crafters. Players can requisition gear for their 'LOYALTY POINTS' from AUCTION HOUSE. Crafters can buy resources from gatherers for the same points and sell the crafted items to the AUCTION HOUSE (acts like an intermediary that can also store resources). Items no longer requested by players will be automatically salvaged to resources to be sold at discount to the crafters. Tier 2: Players can vote/promote other players to officers. Officers can issue tasks to their subject and reward them by those loyalty points. Refusal of a task results in % lowering of loyalty points of that player. Players are asked each day if they still support their officer. If more than 50% that were online in the last day say yes, the officer will stay in power and receive a new pool (cumulative) of loyalty points to spend. Order officers (essentialy guild leaders) gain the ability of assigning a player with a banner providing aoe boost to the officers subjects while in the proximity of the banner. Certain buffs only available once that tech is reverse engineered from chaos or balance. Order stronghold repulses maelstrom to a minimum distance of 2 fields. Tier 3: Officers can vote/promote other players to leaders. Leaders can issue tasks to their officers and reward them on completion by loyalty points. Leaders gain special currency (divine favour) that they can spend in various ways. Leaders gain the ability to bolster order outposts with divine powers, giving them temporary boosts (chaos rift repulsion, defensive boosts to order players in the proximity, resource gathering boosts). Some of those bolsters only available by reverse engineering them from balance or chaos. Order stronghold repulses maelstrom to a minimum distance of 3 fields. Chaos Tier 1: Chaos can imbue looted items with powers of chaos giving them stat boosts equivalent to full familiarity but they will decay much faster, forcing them to be discarded much sooner. Chaos players with the highest current CHAOS POWER rating receive mutations from the maelstrom that permanently increase their stats, size and alter their look (adding appendages, horns etc). Chaos players gain the ability to wield weapons from other factions (receive mutation from mealstrom to turn their claws and talons to appendages able to wield weapons). Chaos players gain the ability to transform enemy looted armor to fit their deformed bodies. Tier 2: Chaos unlock the tree to leech life. Chaos players with high ranking gain the ability to 'brand' other chaos players (similar to order officers). This brand signifies their allegiance to that chaos leader. A player can have more than one mark, the more marks a player has the mark is the less powers will flow through it (he/she will have to cut off the older/unused marks to keep the newest one most powerful). Chaos players with high power ranking gain similar abilities to order officers. This will manifest in the ability to mutate a target player that will sacrifice one of their limbs to become a pulsating 'banner' that buffs everyone with the mark of that 'officer' with certain buffs. Certain buffs become available only by reverse engineering it from order/balance. Those techs will be imprinted in the chaos rift interfaces and become available to every chaos officer based on their rank. Chaos players with medium and above power ranking unlock the ability to 'berserk' - by leeching life from enemies they will postpone the gradual vulnerability for as long as they leech (they will resume getting vulnerable when lot leeching, the speed of it will be the same as if not postponed) Rifts spawn strength increased (stay for longer, can let through more players, spawn more often and to higher distances, larger area of effect) Tier 3: Highest ranking officers will gain the ability to project chaos around them for a limited time allowing them to take a raiding band of chaos further away from a rift and also providing them with passive life regen. Chaos players inside this 'aura' won't suffer the gradual cumulating vulnerability that they normally suffer by being away from a rift. Rifts spawn stength increased (even more duration, player limit, frequency, even larger area of effect).